WHATS TRENCHING?

So you think you are a badass huh?

      So you think you’re a local badass on the bike. Most of your peers cant hang when your wide open and you feel that you have to slow yourself down to ride with mere mortals so you can have some company the next ride. Some of us are there. BUT… Have you heard of Trenching? Chances are you have not, and before your ego gets too big, try this if you are so bad.

      Trenching is named after the Mariana Trench which is the deepest trench known in the ocean. It descends 11,000 meters, which comes to 36089.238845 feet or 6.84 miles for us stubborn non-metric Yankees. The idea for a cyclist is to descend and climb that elevation in one ridiculous, brutal ride. Can you stop and eat? Yes. Can you do it over more then one session? No if you are a purist, and at this point why wouldn’t you be a purist because you are doing something not many people would really ponder doing let alone actually accomplish.

      So how does this work if there is no actual place on earth above the ocean that could simulate this feat? Well the masochists of cycling worked it out and what you would do is find the best local elevation gain around that is able to be ridden on a bike. Then divide the accent/ decent by 11,000 meters and repeat the climb for that many reps.

      Now as a side note if you really feel you could do this. First make sure you could at least ride the distance required to conquer the task in normal riding conditions. It is a 6.84 mile climb but that would be strait up so your actual miles are going to be multiplied by the length of the accent course and the number of reps. This could really hurt you if you are not very, very conditioned. If you work for a living, remember that you have to walk at work the next time you are there. Second RECORD this accomplishment with some sort of sophisticated device, because you are going to want to prove this after going through the hell and rub it in. The worst thing in the world would be doing this and people not even believe it. This could be recorded through possibly STRAVA, Wahoo, etc. Last keep in mind that the steeper the grade the less miles, but you are fighting gravity.

So with that to think about, I hope you have fun. You can watch this done on the GCN channel, and it seems like it took a semi-pro rider all day (I’m talking 10-12 hours).